BJP president JP Nadda on Monday accused the Congress of indulging in the politics of vote bank and appeasement and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the culture of politics in the country with focus on development of everyone.
Addressing a rally in Lormi town of Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district, Nadda highlighted the BJP-led central government's achievements in the last 10 years. He referred to the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 (which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir), notification of rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act implementation, and ban on the practice of instant triple talaq.
"Today the culture of politics has changed under the leadership of Modi ji. Earlier it was asked to which caste (a person) belonged, either forward or backward, from this side of the river or the other side, from hills or plains," he said. "The Congress made brothers fight with each other and indulged in the politics of vote-bank. Modi ji changed the definition of politics of India. He changed the way of doing work. Under his leadership, the country has been heading ahead with the slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas'," Nadda said.
While they (Congress) did politics of appeasement, PM Modi did politics of "vikaswaad" (development), he said, adding that the Congress has always opposed Lord Ram and Sanatan Dharma. "The Congress has always been anti-Ram and anti-Sanatan. During the Manmohan Singh-led rule when Sonia Gandhi was the UPA chairperson, it had given an affidavit in court that Lord Ram is fictional and does not have any historical basis," he said.
Should such "anti-Ram" people who see politics in everything get your support?" he asked.
Modi govt has eliminated terrorism from country, Naxalism on verge of ending: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has eliminated terrorism from the country while Naxalism is on the verge of ending.
Addressing an election rally in Chhattisgarh's Kanker town, Shah also asked Naxalites to surrender, or else they would be rooted out from the state in two years. He asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that four generations of his family were in power in the country, but what they have done for the poor people in Chhattisgarh.
"The Congress says the minority (community) has the first right over the country's resources of the country, but we (BJP) say the poor, adivasis, Dalits and backwards have the first right over resources of the country," Shah said. He also said that Congress leaders did not attend the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol at the Ayodhya temple in lure of their vote bank.
The Union minister hailed PM Modi, saying he has a "track record of 10 years and agenda for 25 years. "Narendra Modi ji has eliminated terrorism from the country while Naxalism is on the verge of an ending. Mahadev app brand Bhupesh Baghel government did not take action against Naxalites," Shah said.
After the formation of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai was elected as the chief minister and Vijay Sharma as the state home minister. In the last four months, 90 Naxalites were neutralised under the BJP government, Shah said. While 123 Naxalites were arrested, 250 surrendered (during this period), he added.
Under PM Modi's leadership, Naxalism has been eliminated from all over the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, Shah said. "Elect Modi ji for the third term, the menace (of Naxalism) will be rooted out from Chhattsigarh in two years," he added.
UP minister Sanjay Nishad roughed up at wedding event
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad was allegedly attacked by some people when he was visiting a village in the Khalilabad Kotwali Police Station area to attend a wedding, police said on Monday. A complaint was filed in the matter by the minister's personal secretary Vinod Kumar.
The incident took place late Sunday night in Mohammadpur Kathar village, where Nishad was confronted by a group of people with questions about his work and his MP son's absence from the constituency. Nishad was rushed to a local hospital with a bloody nose as a result of the row.
"I lead the Nishad community. Wherever my workers are, I make sure to attend their weddings. On Sunday, it was the wedding of my worker in Mohammadpur Kathar village," Nishad told the media in Sant Kabir Nagar. "While I was waiting for the jaimala ceremony, some people from behind started making disrespectful remarks about my MP son Pravin Nishad and the Nishad party. I thought they might be from our community and I could explain things to them. We brought those people forward and asked them to talk to the MP when he arrived. They asked me, 'You're the minister, what have you done?'" he said.
The minister alleged that when he asked them to behave, the men attacked him. "My glasses broke, and I was hit on the nose They were Yadavs. I won't take names. There were around 20-25 people. Since I came here, people have been trying to incite caste conflicts," Nishad said.
Police Circle Officer Brijesh Singh said Nishad, bleeding from nose, was taken to a hospital where he was given first aid. Nishad, who is the president of Nishad party, a constituent of the ruling NDA, sat on a protest at the hospital along with his party workers. He ended the protest only after Superintendent of Police Satyajit Gupta visited him at the hospital and assured him of action.
No PM has ever made such remarks, EC must give notice to Modi: Sibal on Rajasthan speech
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Congress will redistribute wealth' remark, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal Monday said political discourse has never sunk to such a low in India's history and urged the Election Commission to take action in the matter.
Sibal's attack came a day after Prime Minister Modi suggested that if the Congress came to power, it would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
"After the PM's speech, crores of people will be disappointed. Probably no other prime minister has given such a statement since 1950. The speech points out that our minorities who have been living in India for years are infiltrators. What kind of politics is this," Sibal said at a press conference in New Delhi.
"What kind of culture is this? You talk of Ram Mandir, inaugurate the temple, talk about Ram's ideals and on the other hand, you spread hate. Where is 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'. You cannot maintain India by being the groom on the horse of hate," he said, slamming the prime minister for his remark.
Sibal said that he was deeply disappointed with the remark because he respects the post of the prime minister and the person sitting on it. "But when the PM is not worthy of respect, then the intellectuals of the country should come forward," he asserted. He also questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's silence on the remark.
Sibal said he wanted to ask the Election Commission why it had not taken any action on Modi's speech.
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Banswara on Sunday, Modi alleged that the Congress plans to give people's hard-earned money and valuables to "infiltrators" and "those who have more children".